Brainz Magazine
by Inesa Ponomariovaite, Health Coach & Hemp Expert
Why is gut health important? The American Medical Association describes gut health as the well-being of your entire digestive system and its microscopic components including viruses, bacteria, fungi and other elements. The community of living things in your gut are known as the gut microbiota or microbiome.
The gut, or gastrointestinal tract, plays an important role in digestion, nutrient absorption, and immune function. It hosts trillions of beneficial bacteria that aid in breaking down food and producing essential vitamins which we need to survive as humans. Think of the gut as a little factory in your stomach that is responsible for producing all the nutrients you need from food. They do this by breaking down this food into smaller components and extracting important nutrients like vitamins from them.
A healthy gut acts like a strong army of beneficial microbes that defend against harmful microorganisms and inflammation, ensuring proper nutrient absorption. Imbalances in gut health can lead to digestive issues, weakened immunity, and chronic diseases. Despite extensive research on gut health, scientists continue to uncover new insights into the gut microbiome. Between 2014 and 2024, PubMed featured 53,450 publications focusing on the gut microbiome.
As scary as this may sound, it will interest you to note that the food we eat has a major role to play in the overall health of our gut. A diet rich in fiber, probiotics, and prebiotics fosters a diverse and balanced gut microbiome. Conversely, processed foods, high sugar intake, and excessive antibiotics can disrupt this balance, leading to gut dysbiosis and various health issues.
How many people are having gut health challenges in 2024?
Gut health trends across 2024 shows that most people in the world are not aware of what they need to do to keep their gut healthy. Information from
research shows that about
 40% of the world is suffering with gut health challenges while
 two-thirds of Americans are living with gut issues without being aware of its consequences.
It is pertinent to note that gut health consists of several disease conditions including hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease and Crohnâs disease. Letâs look at how many people had these conditions in the first half of 2024.
How many people experienced hemorrhoids in 2024?
While there are about 10.4 million people with hemorrhoids in the U.S
 research shows that about 1 million people come down with hemorrhoids every year. This possibility of coming down with hemorrhoids is expected to increase as people grow older with seniors from 51 years and above experiencing the worst cases.
Data from Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine shows that Hemorrhoids account for more than 3.5 million office visits annually. Hemorrhoids are responsible for over 3.5 million outpatient visits in the US, making them the third leading cause of hospital admissions related to gastrointestinal disease. Each year in the USA, $350 million to $2.5 billion is spent on hemorrhoidal disease, with diagnosis and treatment becoming a multi-billion dollar industry…
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